A trio of Tigers have been recognized among the top young players in the NFL.

This week, Pro Football Focus ranked the top 25 players under 25 entering the 2023 NFL season, and three Clemson pros made the list.

The highest-ranked among them is Tee Higgins, who came in at No. 14.

The Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver is going into his fourth NFL season after being selected by the Bengals in the second round (33rd overall) of the 2020 NFL Draft.

Over his first three NFL seasons, Higgins has caught 215 passes for 3,028 yards and 19 touchdowns. He has tallied exactly 74 receptions in each of the last two seasons while racking up more than 1,000 receiving yards in each of those seasons as well.

“Higgins is coming off back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons while recording 908 receiving yards in his rookie campaign before that,” PFF’s Trevor Sikkema wrote. “It’s been a career of high-level consistency for Higgins, who would likely have even better stats with Ja’Marr Chase not acting as the team’s No. 1 receiver the past two years.”

Trevor Lawrence, meanwhile, is ranked No. 18 among PFF’s top 25 players under 25.

Last year in his second campaign with the Jacksonville Jaguars, Lawrence led his team to the AFC South title and a playoff victory. The 2021 No. 1 overall draft pick earned Pro Bowl honors in 2022, when he had a 66.3 percent completion percentage, 4,113 passing yards and 25 passing touchdowns with eight interceptions.

“Lawrence struggled during his rookie season, earning a 58.3 passing grade,” Sikkema wrote. “But this past year (with an established NFL head coach), he jumped to a 74.1 passing grade. He finished with 26 big-time throws, 19 turnover-worth plays and a 77.7% adjusted completion percentage. It was a step in the right direction, one that allowed his arrow to continue pointing up with improvement still possible in all areas.”

Also appearing on PFF’s list is A.J. Terrell at No. 22.

Terrell is entering his fourth season in the NFL after after being drafted by the Atlanta Falcons with the No. 16 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. Through his first three NFL campaigns, the former Clemson cornerback has become one of the best young players at his position in the NFL and one of his team’s most dependable players on the defensive side of the ball.

A 2021 second-team All-Pro, Terrell has posted 202 tackles, 32 passes defended, four interceptions, four forced fumbles and a fumble recovery in 44 career games (all starts).

“Terrell’s 2021 season was spectacular,” Sikkema wrote. “He recorded an 85.6 coverage grade with just 29 catches and 200 receiving yards allowed. He also recorded 15 forced incompletions and three interceptions. This past season was much more of a struggle, however, as Terrell earned a 61.8 coverage grade. The Falcons’ defense as a whole was not up to par, especially in the front seven, which makes coverage a tough job. With more talent around him this year, we’ll get a better feel for what to expect of Terrell moving forward.”

Xavier Thomas is back to win another championship.  Dear Old Clemson has added signed posters from Thomas to our online store.  For this weekend only they are on sale at an introductory price of only $30.

Now there is a new way you can support Clemson student-athletes. Purchase collectibles from Dear Old Clemson and the proceeds with go to support Clemson student-athletes. 

Dear Old Clemson is doing NIL the ‘Clemson way’, but we need your help to make sure we build a sustainable, repeatable model that will help keep Clemson competitive with the other top programs around the nation.

Dabo Swinney: “We need your assistance more than ever to provide meaningful NIL opportunities. Tiger Impact, Dear Old Clemson and other collectives allow student-athletes to utilize their voice and platform to maximize their NIL opportunities and strengthen their impact in the community.”

Graham Neff:
“Tiger Impact, Dear Old Clemson and other collectives need your support to help provide meaningful NIL opportunities for our student athletes. We are doing things the right way, the Clemson way with integrity as a non-negotiable and we fully support the mission of these groups.”

Join the Tiger Club or Lady Tiger Club to help these great student-athletes and help the Tigers compete at the highest level!